The plan for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend was to camp at
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and spend the days hiking to some great slot canyons in
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I was particularly interested in hiking to the Golden Cathedral and visiting
Kodachrome Basin State Park. Instead, an early season snowstorm blanketed the Escalante region with over a foot of snow and we were left scrambling for a new Thanksgiving plan.
Keith, Melissa, Katy, John, Jason and I headed down to
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on Thursday morning after seeing that the area was mostly snow-free and camping was still available. We arrived at the nice, and nearly empty, campground later in the afternoon under sunny skies and a comfortable temperature for late November. After quickly setting up our tents, we headed off to the sand dunes to watch the sun set from the moving mounds of sand.
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| Footsteps in the sand at Coral Pink Sand Dunes |
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| Coral Pink Sand Dunes |
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| Keith enjoying the dunes |
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| Sunset at Coral Pink Sand Dunes |
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| Sunset at Coral Pink Sand Dunes |
The temperature dropped below freezing after sunset but we were able to enjoy a great Thanksgiving dinner around a warm campfire. Melissa was kind enough to bring a case of Deschutes Jubelale to celebrate the evening.
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| Katy and John's Thanksgiving Dinner |
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Jason's Thanksgiving Dinner
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Friday morning was frosty and windy as I headed out to the dunes to watch the sun rise. The sand was really blowing and my face felt like it was being sand blasted as I watched the sun rise over a nearby ridge.
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| Blowing sand |
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Sunrise at the sand dunes
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After breakfast, we drove to
Zion National Park to do some day hikes and enjoy the warm sunshine for the rest of day. Upon arrival, we were shocked to see so many people and cars in every direction that we looked. Apparently, Thanksgiving is popular holiday for people to visit the park and the snow and poor weather conditions across most of Utah probably forced additional people, like us, into the area. We crammed ourselves onto a shuttle bus and rode to the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the main canyon. After walking up the riverwalk for a bit (with hundreds of other people!) we decided to walk downcanyon for a while on a less formal trail that followed the Virgin River. It was more peaceful experience and a good escape from the crowds. Eventually we hoped onto shuttle bus back to the Zion Lodge and hiked to the Emerald Pools, a popular hike in the park but not particularly spectacular in the evening light of winter.
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| Zion National Park |
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| Zion National Park |
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Virgin River - Zion National Park
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After another windy, cold night of camping at Coral Pink Sand Dunes, we headed back to Zion National Park on Saturday for a full day of hiking. Jason and I hiked to Observation Point since neither of us had done that trail. Everyone else hiked to Angel's Landing on the opposite side of the canyon. Observation Point is a great hike that offers spectacular views of main canyon and the surrounding plateaus above Zion, along with glimpses into Echo slot canyon. After the hike, we met up with the rest of the group at the Zion Lodge and headed back to camp at Coral Pink Sand Dunes for one more night.
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| Echo Canyon |
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| Jason hiking to Observation Point |
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| Hiking to Observation Point |
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| At Observation Point |
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| Jason at Observation Point |
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View from Observation Point of Zion
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There was no wind when I awoke on Sunday morning and the nearby dunes were shrouded in a layer of fog. The combination of heavy frost, the shifting fog, and the morning sunlight made for some spectacular photo opportunities. It was a great morning to be out on the dunes!
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| Foggy sunrise at Coral Pink Sand Dunes |
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| Fog and sand dunes |
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Trees in the fog at Coral Pink Sand Dunes
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After breakfast, Jason and I decided to make a quick stop at Bryce Canyon National Park before heading back to Salt Lake. The fresh snow on the pinkish-red rocks of Bryce is always a beautiful site. We enjoyed the views from a few lookouts before making the drive back home.
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| Bryce Canyon National Park |
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| Bryce Canyon National Park |
